SERUM CYSTATIN C AS A BIOMARKER OF ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY IN PRE-ECLAMPTIC PATIENTS

Authors

  • Saqibah Rehman Department of Pathology, Gomal Medical College, DI Khan, Pakistan
  • Tariq Mehmood Ahmad Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Asma Hayat Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Ayesha Qamar Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Sayeda Basma Bukhari Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Saima Bashir Department of Pathology, Gomal Medical College, DI Khan, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v22i1.1866

Keywords:

Cystatin C, serum creatinine, preclampsia

Abstract

Background: Pre-eclampsia is a common multisystem disorder of pregnancy especially kidney damage. Cystatin C is a reliable marker to be used for kidney function. Objective of this study was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of cystatin C in comparison of serum creatinine for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury in patients of pre-eclampsia. Methods: This case control study was conducted in Department of Chemical Pathology of a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi from Jun 2024 to Apr 2025. A sample size of 70 (35 patients, 35 controls) with 95% confidence interval was calculated with 1:1 case to control ratio using online WHO calculator. Simple consecutive sampling was used. Patients diagnosed with pre-eclampsia with >20 weeks of gestation were included according to the American Obstetric and Gynaecologists guidelines. Controls were healthy pregnant mothers of the same gestational duration. Five mL of blood was collected from each patient for estimation of random blood glucose, serum creatinine, uric acid, and cystatin C. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson’s correlation, t-test and ROC curve analysis. Results: Mean age of participants was 28.7±2.6 years. Mean gestational age was 29.1±2.8 weeks. Mean cystatin C value were higher among cases (0.830±0.28 mg/L) than controls (0.167±0.19 mg/L). Cystatin C had 88% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Serum creatinine and uric acid had much less sensitivity and specificity as compared to cystatin C. Conclusion: Serum cystatin C is an important biomarker that more accurately captures early renal impairment compared to conventional indicators.

Pak J Physiol 2026;22(1):3–5, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v22i1.1866

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Tanner MS, Malhotra A, Davey MA, Wallace EM, Mol BW, Palmer KR. Maternal and neonatal complications in women with medical comorbidities and preeclampsia. Pregnancy Hypertens 2022;27:62–8.

Shandilya V, Sinha N, Rani S. Preeclampsia: Prevalence, risk factors, and impact on mother and fetus. Indian J Cardiovasc Dis Women 2023;8(3):193–9.

Mohamed SY, Bakheit KH. Maternal, placental, and fetal complications of preeclampsia in low resource settings. Asian J Pregnancy Childbirth 2025;8(1):202–15.

Overton E, Tobes D, Lee A. Preeclampsia diagnosis and management. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol 2022;36(1):107–21.

Lafayette RA, Druzin M, Sibley R, Derby G, Malik T, Huie P, et al. Nature of glomerular dysfunction in pre-eclampsia. Kidney Int 2016;54(4):1240–9.

Shaikh N, Nahid S, Ummunnisa F, Fatima I, Hilani M, Gul A, Al Basha A, et al. Preeclampsia: from etiopathology to organ dysfunction. In: Abduljabbar H, (Ed). Preeclampsia. 2021. Available from: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/79809

Bajpai D. Preeclampsia for the nephrologist: current understanding in diagnosis, management, and long-term outcomes. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis 2020;27(6):540–50.

Benoit SW, Ciccia EA, Devarajan P. Cystatin C as a biomarker of chronic kidney disease: latest developments. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2020;20(10):1019–26.

Bellos I, Pergialiotis V, Loutradis D, Daskalakis G. The prognostic role of serum uric acid levels in preeclampsia: A meta?analysis. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2020;22(5):826–34.

Corominas AI, Medina Y, Balconi S, Casale R, Farina M, Martínez N, et al. Assessing the role of uric acid as a predictor of preeclampsia. Front Physiol 2022;12:785219.

Sakr HI, Khowailed AA, Al-Fakharany RS, Abdel-Fattah DS, Taha AA. Serum uric acid level as a predictive biomarker of gestational hypertension severity; A prospective observational case-control study. Rev Recent Clin Trials 2020;15(3):227–39.

Chen DC, Potok OA, Rifkin D, Estrella MM. Advantages, limitations, and clinical considerations in using cystatin C to estimate GFR. Kidney360 2022;3(10):1807–14.

Adingwupu OM, Barbosa ER, Palevsky PM, Vassalotti JA, Levey AS, Inker LA. Cystatin C as a GFR estimation marker in acute and chronic illness: a systematic review. Kidney Med 2023;5(12):100727.

Burton GJ, Jauniaux E. The human placenta: new perspectives on its formation and function during early pregnancy. Proc Biol Sci 2023;290(1997):20230191.

Pan Y, Yang L, Chen D, Hou H, Zhang M, Chen M, et al. Decidual macrophage derived MMP3 contributes to extracellular matrix breakdown in spiral artery remodeling in early human pregnancy. J Reprod Immunol 2022;150:103494.

Stehlé T, Delanaye P. Which is the best glomerular filtration marker: Creatinine, cystatin C or both? Eur J Clin Invest 2024;54(10):e14278.

Spencer S, Desborough R, Bhandari S. Should cystatin C eGFR become routine clinical practice? Biomolecules 2023;13(7):1075.

Bellos I, Fitrou G, Daskalakis G, Papantoniou N, Pergialiotis V. Serum cystatin-c as predictive factor of preeclampsia: A meta-analysis of 27 observational studies. Pregnancy Hypertens 2019;16:97–104.

Padma Y, Aparna VB, Kalpana B, Ritika V, Sudhakar PR. Renal markers in normal and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Indian women: a pilot study. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2013;2(4):514–20.

Wattanavaekin K, Kitporntheranunt M, Kreepala C. Cystatin C as a novel predictor of preterm labor in severe preeclampsia. Kidney research and clinical practice. 2018;37(4):338–46.

Chew JS, Saleem M, Florkowski CM, George PM. Cystatin C —a paradigm of evidence based laboratory medicine. Clin Biochem Rev 2008;29(2):47–62.

Downloads

Published

31-03-2026

How to Cite

1.
Rehman S, Ahmad TM, Hayat A, Ayesha Qamar, Sayeda Basma Bukhari, Saima Bashir. SERUM CYSTATIN C AS A BIOMARKER OF ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY IN PRE-ECLAMPTIC PATIENTS. Pak J Phsyiol [Internet]. 2026 Mar. 31 [cited 2026 Apr. 1];22(1):3-5. Available from: https://www.pjp.pps.org.pk/index.php/PJP/article/view/1866